A Tree Fell in the Woods Review (Tribeca): Saving Secrets
In A TREE FELL IN THE WOODS, Nora Kirkpatrick and an all-star cast cast a close eye on long-term relationships and how they are shaped by those in them.
Generally speaking, we expect a long-term romantic partner to be someone we can trust and share our deepest secrets with. In her film A Tree Fell in the Woods, writer and director Nora Kirkpatrick examines those assumptions in a touching, funny, and thoughtful manner.
Two couples head to the woods for a New Year’s Eve getaway. Josh (Daveed Diggs) and Debs (Alexandra Daddario) are joining Mitch (Josh Gad) and Melanie (Ashley Park) at an isolated cabin. Debs and Mitch have been friends since childhood, and on the first morning, the two of them head into the woods to see the sunrise that is supposed to be legendary. While they are on their walk, a tree falls, nearly injuring both of them and cutting their journey a bit short. They head back to the house, but when they arrive, they see Josh and Melanie in flagrante delicto. As the snow begins to fall, the couples find themselves trapped in a situation none wants to be in, but all must endure.
A Tree Fell in the Woods takes a difficult situation, such as infidelity, and puts it under a microscope. Because the couples are stuck in the cabin, they are forced into conversations that are difficult and require them to really listen to one another. Kirkpatrick pairs up everyone over the course of the film, which provides an interesting and shifting dynamic throughout. The characters must confront not just the primary offense, but also the underlying situations that led to it. It is in these nuanced takes that the film really shines.
The performers are all top-notch, and all are given the opportunity to shine. Despite not being a couple, Gad and Daddario have the best chemistry, feeling just like old friends. Watching them interact is fantastic. In the third act, when the four are finally all together (something that happens remarkably rarely in this movie), they play off one another brilliantly. And Kevin Pollak has a phenomenal, if brief, time in the film as Gary, the facility owner and handyman. He has an almost magical quality about him that is quite fun.
There are a lot of tonal shifts in A Tree Fell in the Woods. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as most felt pretty seamless, but that could be off-putting to some. Nevertheless, despite the difficult subject matter and some conversations that absolutely stretch the characters, the humor lands nicely throughout. I found myself laughing more than once.
The most impressive aspect of the film is that the ending never felt inevitable. As the movie progresses, there are lots of ways that it could play out, and at no point did it feel stale or predictable. And that’s good, because that is the nature of long-term relationships. If you enter a relationship, you don’t do so hoping that it will crash and burn. Even if it doesn’t last, there is the hope that the end can be something gentle rather than traumatic. A Tree Fell in the Woods offers hope that relationships can have purpose, even if they don’t stand for eternity.
Rating: 4/5
Check out my interview with writer/director Nora Kirkpatrick.